The Senate And The Saudis

Many of us on the “Left” have been bitching about the way the Congress has turned its back on one of its duties….the declaration of war.

It seems the Senate has located a spine and taken up the war that the Saudis have brought to the Arabian Peninsula with the help of the US……..

But as usual the Neocons trot out their big guns to combat any change in the status quo…..

A congressional push to limit U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen would do “immense damage” to U.S. interests in the region, leave Iran in a stronger position, and do nothing to alleviate the humanitarian crisis generated by the war, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is warning lawmakers Wednesday.

Mr. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis were up on Capitol Hill ahead of an expected Senate vote on a resolution to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition, a resolution that has picked up support in the wake of the Oct. 2 killing of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi government hit team.

Sorry to say (not really) this tactic did not work on the weak willed….and the vote went ahead…..

In a 63-37 vote on Wednesday, the Senate agreed to a full floor debate of a bill challenging the legality of the US involvement in the Yemen War. The legal challenge is built around Congress never having authorized the US to join such a war.

Wednesday’s pre-vote efforts saw Secretaries of State and Defense Mike Pompeo and James Mattis taking senators into a closed-door, classified briefing that was aimed to cover both the Yemen War, and mounting concerns about the US relationship with Saudi Arabia.

This mounting Senate support suggests the bill itself is very likely to pass, although it may ultimately stall in the House of Representatives, where a recent effort at a War Powers Act challenge to the war was derailed in favor of a wolf-hunting measure.

(antiwar.com)

I had accused Senators of being on the Saudi payroll……and then we find they were…….

At least five of the 37 Republican Senators who voted against advancing a resolution limiting the United States’ involvement in the war in Yemen have received campaign contributions from pro-Saudi lobbying groups.

Roy Blunt, John Boozman, Richard Burr, Mike Crapo and Tim Scott all received financial contributions from firms representing Saudi interests between 2016 and 2017, according to a recent investigation by the Centre for International Policy (CIP).

All five Republicans voted on Wednesday against advancing the resolution, which, if passed, would force the US to limit its support for the Saudi-UAE war in Yemen.

An after word: Most Americans know that the biggest enemies we have these days is Al-Qaeda and ISIS, right?

A new study shows that our “greatest” ally in the region is arming these enemies of state…..

An investigation into weapons being used in the war in Yemen has shown numerous examples of arms supplied by the UK and the US, among others, ending up in the hands of militias including those linked to al-Qaida and Isis.

In an apparent abuse of trade agreements by the Saudi- and UAE-led coalition, sophisticated armoured vehicles, rocket launchers, grenades and rifles are among the weapons being purchased from European and US companies and reaching local factions and groups.

As international concerns continue to rise over the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the report by journalist Mohamed Abo-Elgheit and the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalists (Arij) alleges that not only are weapons being openly passed to militias aligned to the Saudi coalition but also to marginalised and feuding groups fighting their own territorial battles.

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6 thoughts on “The Senate And The Saudis”

You wrote — “A congressional push to limit U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen would do “immense damage” to U.S. interests in the region, leave Iran in a stronger position, and do nothing to alleviate the humanitarian crisis generated by the war, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is warning lawmakers Wednesday….” and I am commenting: “It seems we took great pains to destroy our interests in Iraq also when we betrayed Saddam, who was formerly one of our staunchest allies. It seems to me that we are more than willing to sabotage our interests in any area of the world if it serves some agenda and I am think that the agenda in this case is more profit motivated than it is altruistic.

Look behind any conflict in that region, and you will always find Saudis, or Israelis. Both countries supported, even propped up, by western interests. It is never going to change, sadly.
Best wishes, Pete.